


Phil Coulson's Deal

by Canuck_Lex



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Fix-It of Sorts, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-29 18:31:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12636756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Canuck_Lex/pseuds/Canuck_Lex
Summary: Agent Phil Coulson makes deals. One of them he's kept secret for five years.An answer to the question: Why hasn't Phil Coulson let the Avengers know he's alive?It may be surprising...





	Phil Coulson's Deal

**Author's Note:**

> Please note, I don't really believe this. And this will never show up in my other works. But two portions of dialogue from Agents of SHIELD S4 won't leave me alone tonight. And so I share this bit of angst with you all.

"You _know, you never did tell me - what you saw when you died."_

_"Really? Now? Is it because it smells like death in here?"_

_"You saw something."_

_"You want to know what I saw, Phil?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"I saw you. Don't let it go to your head."_

**_Phil Coulson & Melinda May, Agents of SHIELD, "The Lockup" (S4x05)_ **

* * *

Thanos and the Black Order were defeated. Earth was safe again, probably for a while now. The word was out to the scum of the universe - avoid Earth at all costs. It was too well defended.

That victory wasn't a given. Thanos had knocked out most of the team, almost killing Steve Rogers in the process. But when it seemed all hope was lost, a new ship had entered the fray, from out of nowhere, and seven newcomers had leapt into the fray, knocking the Order literally on their backs, allowing the Avengers and Guardians time to regroup and eventually win the day.

And when the dust cleared, everyone was shocked to see the six missing SHIELD Agents from the mess last summer, being led by the not-so-dead, still unflappable Agent Phillip Coulson.

Fury had a lot of explaining to do, thought Tony Stark, overlooking the celebration party at SI, now in full swing. So did Agent, but he was proving quite elusive since the battle. Maybe he had spent more time with Natasha and Clint than he had seen, but he didn't think so.

He tossed down a gulp of scotch. There Coulson was, mingling with the guests below. Stark continued to watch, his eyes beginning to narrow. There definitely was a pattern forming. Coulson stuck to his team, chatted with the Guardians at length, made small talk with the Inhumans from the moon colony...and stayed as far away from his old Avengers team as he could possibly get without making it obvious. Kept to that May woman's side, as a matter of fact. 

Something was up. Tony scanned the room and picked up on an interesting grouping. Nat and Barton were in deep conversation with Thor and Sif. And while Tony's lip reading wasn't the best at times, he could see the word Coulson being tossed around frequently.

Tony finished the Scotch. Time to rejoin the party. And time to have this out with the good Agent Director.

As Tony moved to the top of stairwell, he was met by Steve and (what was that name, Strange?). He raised his eyebrows.

"We have a situation." clipped out Steve. Strange nodded.

Tony ran a finger over his lips. 

"That's not Phil." It wasn't a question.

"No, Mr. Stark." replied Strange, his back to the room. "It's not."

* * *

_"What dark magic is this? Thor said you had perished at the hands of Loki!"_

_"And he was right for awhile, anyway. But Loki wasn't the only one with some tricks up his sleeve. Turns out SHIELD had a few of their own."_

_"Thor will be pleased to hear it. He considers you a friend."_

_"I feel the same, which is why I prefer he hear it from me, if that's okay."_

**_Phil Coulson and Lady Sif, Agents of SHIELD, "Yes Men" (S1x15)_ **

* * *

The party had ended, and the last stragglers were on the dance floor. Among them were Coulson and May, sharing a last dance before heading to their room for the evening.  As the lights came on, Coulson looked up. Each of the exits were covered by an Avenger. All eyes were trained on them. No one else was in the room.

May cursed under her breath. "Do you want me to call in the others?"

Coulson shook his head. "No, this conversation's been five years in the making, Mel. Head out, I'll be O.K."

"Not leaving you, you idiot. You'd probably get shot back into space."

"Actually, Agent May, we'd like to know how deep you're in this." commented Barton, glaring at the two partners.

"What are you talking about, Barton?"

"The fact that's not Coulson standing beside you." 

"And what do you base that on, Clint?" asked Coulson mildly, as if six weapons weren't trained on them. "Is it that I never contacted you? I was under orders..."

"Save it." snapped Natasha.

"Oh, just little things, boss. The minor tells that are missing. We saw them day in, day out for 6 years before New Mexico." Clint's eyes narrowed. "Your stance, the way you walk. Hell, the way you dance. That's slightly off. As if someone's pretending to be you."

"You told my shieldbrother Sif that you would contact me," rumbled Thor. "But you never did."

"I was slightly busy, you know. Fall of SHIELD, taking out HYDRA, saving your asses in Sokavia..."

"Then why did Heimdall never inform me that you walked among mortals again, son of Coul? For my grief on losing you was great, and he would have informed me should your feet had touched Midgard again."

Coulson spread his hands. "I don't know, Odinson."

"Tut, tut, Agent." came from a suited up Tony. "You should know better than to lie when I'm in the suit."

Coulson raised an impassive eyebrow. 

"See, outwardly, nothing. But your heart rate elevated just a fraction, there. Some extra brain function noted." The repulsors began to charge. "Can't control those involuntary tells, Agent."

Coulson shifted to cover May. Everyone tracked him.

"You all are insane." snapped May. "I saw what happened to him after TAHITI. I saw the video of the procedure. This is Agent Phil Coulson!" She turned to Tony. "You have Phil's scans on record, compare them!"

"His physical scans, yes, Agent May." Strange moved from out of the corner. "Nothing would change from that. I have the ability to run a more psychic scan, if you would. I could tell you if the man standing beside you was the Phillip Coulson who died five years ago."

Coulson huffed softly.

"Well then, get it over with!" exclaimed May. She looked at Coulson. His eyes were locked on Strange. "Phil?" she asked, suddenly uncertain.

Phil turned to her. "I love you, Mel. I'm sorry." 

Suddenly May's body sagged, and Coulson caught his unconscious partner, lowering her to the ground. He touched her face gently, and stood up to face the rest.

"She's sleeping. She won't remember anything past that last dance...too much of your Haig, Mr. Stark."

His stance shifted. "I would like do this in a more comfortable setting, if you wouldn't mind?"

* * *

They gathered in an unused boardroom, same as they always had in the past when it was time to debrief. 

Coulson took a seat. "I would appreciate it, Mr. Stark, if you would keep those lie detectors turned on for this?"

"Count on it." came the cold reply.

"It's going to seem a little far fetched, even for this group. Starting at the beginning. Five years ago, on the SHIELD helicarrier, Loki plunged a sceptre into Phil Coulson's heart. He died in the medical bay."

"But things don't end after death. Steve, your faith tells you this, correct? When Phil died, he was allowed to glimpse two futures. One where he came back to continue in the fight against the forces of evil, and one where he did not."

Steve leaned forward. "I think we can see which he picked. What happened in the other future?"

"Captain Rogers, we can never see down the road we did not travel. That information is best left for after our stories have been written."

"Our lives are a Choose Your Own Adventure?" Bruce shook his head. 

"If you'd like, Dr. Banner, but the analogy is a little too simplistic." returned Coulson. "Perhaps it's just that you cannot go back and choose a different page once you've made your choice and seen the consequences."

"But to return to the matter at hand." Coulson stopped and leaned back, surveying the room. "Yes, Phil made the decision to continue the fight. However, no matter how valiant he was, no matter how grim the alternate future may have been, the fact remained: Phil died that afternoon. His part in the Great Story had ended. No one on Earth could alter that fact."

"So, who're you?" asked Natasha. "You've been speaking in the third person since we got in here?"

"Dr. Strange, you know of the battle that rages through the dimensions between good and evil. When Phil passed from this dimension, there was a short period of time where his...countenance...could be assumed by those of my kind, should he give consent, and I be willing to take on the risks of becoming mortal." 

"He did. And I was. Phil Coulson came back to life. Believe me when I tell you that much pain and evil were averted because of it."

"What are you?" asked Tony.

Coulson smiled. A sense of peace filled the room. His eye colour shifted to black, filled with stars.

"We are known by many names here, Tony Stark. Why limit ourselves to just one?"

The moment hung in time, then Coulson's eyes shifted back. Thor nodded in understanding. 

"It all makes sense. But now what?"

"Well, I would prefer to continue with my team as before." Coulson looked around the room. "They are my family, under my protection. Especially May and Daisy. The threats to this world have not ended with the defeat of HYDRA and Thanos. If anything, these are merely the warmups."

"To what?" asked Strange.

Coulson shrugged. "Haven't a clue. I'm sure we'll find it out as we always do, two or three steps behind them."

"No Supernatural inklings?" groused Tony.

"Gave that up with immortality, Mr. Stark." smiled Coulson.

"Was it worth it?" asked Bruce.

"Every minute of it."

Coulson stood up to leave. 

"You know, Phil warned me you'd figure it out eventually. It's why I made sure to keep away from you. He told me that if and when it happened I could trust you to do what was right. And I do."

He paused in the doorway.

"He asked me to tell you, if I ever had the opportunity, how proud he was of each and every one of you. And how much he loved you." 

Coulson turned and walked out the door. The remaining members looked at each other.

"So...now what?" asked Clint.

* * *

_"That was horrifying. I don't know how you live with it all the time. I'm just grateful that Ghost Rider kept its part of the deal and went back to you."_

_"You know why he made the deal in the first place, right?"_

_"I do."_

_"Are you gonna tell the others?"_

_"No. And I ask that you don't either. I will when it's time."_

**_Phil Coulson and Robbie Reyes, Agents of SHIELD "World's End" (S4x22)_ **

* * *

The breakfast room was full of chattering humans and aliens. Hangover cures were being swapped and it was a race to see which concoction would be the vilest (unsurprisingly, Tony was in the lead, followed closely by a NOVA sergeant's remedy)

Everyone looked up as Coulson and May took places at the table, with some mild catcalling from those who didn't know better (and some who really should).

Steve made his way over to the pair. 

"Uh oh, here we go..." chortled Daisy. "Need a pen, Coulson?"

Coulson lifted an eyebrow at her, then turned casually to Steve.

"Captain Rogers?" 

Steve met his gaze. 

"I just wanted to let you know, on behalf of everyone on the Avengers team, how good it is to have you back." He swallowed. "Phil."

"Thank you Captain. It's good to finally be home again."

Daisy leaned forward. "Is that a tear in your eye, Coulson?"

May glared at her. "Shut it, Johnson."

"Nah, it's ok." Phil smiled at his friends. "It really is good to be back home."

* * *

" _The principle SHIELD was founded on was pure..."_

_"Protection."_

_"Protection. One word. Sometimes to protect one man against himself, other times to protect the planet against an alien invasion from another universe."_

_"It's a broad job description."_

_"No need to tell me. But the belief that drives us all is the same, whether it's one man or all of mankind._ _That they're worth saving."_

_**Nick Fury and Phil Coulson, Agents of SHIELD, "Beginning of the End" (S1x22)**_

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I've quoted from several episodes of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD here. All credit to the writers, cast and crew of those episodes.
> 
> I don't normally do angst, so consider this a one-shot:) 
> 
> Phil Coulson returns to life over in my other works...and in S 5 of Agents of SHIELD, Dec 1st. 
> 
> Hopefully the situation he refers to with Robbie turns out to be less life threatening... :S


End file.
